[Video] Audi Q7 commercial has no computer-generated images

But the title should be revealing, as the Ingolstadt-based automaker decided to entitle the ad ‘Projection of Greatness’.

This is not a widely available commercial as it has been cooked up by Audi Canada and also has the huge merit of actually totally eschewing computer generated imagery – because it was in fact made entirely on location. And that’s almost unbelievable, because it has complex reflections, patterns, colors, and diagrams – all captured live and all during a freezing time of the year up on a cold mountain in Canada. In fact, all effects have been created using high-intensity projectors. A series of 20,000 lumen projectors were used for the projected images on the snow, the ground and even in the air. The cameras were also there to capture all these practical effects, along with the car itself.

Fortress Mountain in Canada was the location, standing 7,500 feet (2,286 meters) above sea level – at the time of shooting temperatures went to minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 25 degrees Celsius). The North American Q7 used in the commercial comes with a 3.0-liter, supercharged V6 engine churning out 333 horsepower (248 kilowatts), sent to all four wheels using an eight-speed automatic gearbox and the Quattro four-wheel-drive, which is good for a 0 to 60 miles per hour time of 5.7 seconds.